[dsmxyz]

NOTE! I am in EU, so if you are going to recommend something from USA etc. please change the amazon.com to amazon.de ,the price diffrences are incredible!

+ if something is avalible to buy from USA(amazon.com or massdrop etc.) i can buy that too if the price is reasonable with shipping included.


Budget : 420$/377€ (DAC/AMP included)

Source/Amp: I dont have any so tell me if i need one too

How the gear will be used: For home use, isolated (open back i guess) + for RPG and singleplayer games mostly (and some CS-R6S sprinkled around)

Preferred tonal balance: I dont really know how it should be but i listen to lots of metal and i would love hearing drums banging

Preferred music genres: Metal-Jazz mainly, acustic chill-EDM occasionally

Past gear experience: Only used cheap pair of samsung and beats stuff (hated the beats), some kicker and old sennheisers my brother left


Other questions i have:

-can someone explain what does a DAC/AMP do and do i need one

-is the price diffrence in DT 990 Pro(122€/137$) and Premium(159€/178$) worth it?

-should i get SHP9500S for 95€/107$ (shipping included)

-is the price diffrence in HD 58X(155€/175$) and HD 6XX(209€/235$) worth it?

 

[Benleetv]

So, the dac is a digital to analog converter. Any electronic with a headphone output has a built in dac since the original signal is basically 0's and 1's and concerts it. Now since you are at home and using a pc i assume, the dac is built into your mother board. If you need one really depends on the pair of cans and the quality of audio that you're looking for. The meze 99's can be run off just about any, but there is a bump up in quality of audio of a stand alone dac or dac/amp compared to the one in the motherboard. Now, an amp helps power a pair of cans and can be useful if for example you have a pair of dt1990's or something that is a little harder to push so your pc or phone can't quite power them enough. Can also improve the audio quality as well. Both a dac and amp can also "color" the audio or change how it sounds some.

 

[Benleetv]

Btw when you say isolated you mean you will be or that you want the sound to be isolated? If you want sound to be isolated you mean closed back

 

[Benleetv]

One last thing since you play mostly single player and want drums you want more lower end for the booms of bombs and rumbles of storms and things to be more immersive

 

[dsmxyz]

Btw when you say isolated you mean you will be or that you want the sound to be isolated? If you want sound to be isolated you mean closed back

My room is quitet and isolated so i want open back.

 

[dsmxyz]

So, the dac is a digital to analog converter. Any electronic with a headphone output has a built in dac since the original signal is basically 0's and 1's and concerts it. Now since you are at home and using a pc i assume, the dac is built into your mother board. If you need one really depends on the pair of cans and the quality of audio that you're looking for. The meze 99's can be run off just about any, but there is a bump up in quality of audio of a stand alone dac or dac/amp compared to the one in the motherboard. Now, an amp helps power a pair of cans and can be useful if for example you have a pair of dt1990's or something that is a little harder to push so your pc or phone can't quite power them enough. Can also improve the audio quality as well. Both a dac and amp can also "color" the audio or change how it sounds some.

Thanks for the long explanation!

 

[dsmxyz]

One last thing since you play mostly single player and want drums you want more lower end for the booms of bombs and rumbles of storms and things to be more immersive

I didnt understand a word you said

 

[Benleetv]

For the tonal balance, you want more low end (more low frequencies, more bass, or how ever you want to word it) with more low end those single player games sound scape (the music and noises going on in the game) pull you in more since they jump out a little more. Now, if you want to play competitive, its the exact opposite and you want a brighter, more high end focused pair of cans. This is because foot steps are usually in the higher end of the frequencies so the foot steps stick out more compared to other things going on with noises. You also want a wider sound stage if you play a lot of single player. Sound stage is how wide the headphones sound, makes the audio pull you in more. If you want to play competitively then you want to focus on imaging since that is what tells you when someone is about to walk around a corner so you know when to shoot. Really there is no "1 perfect headphone" even just for gaming. It depends highly on what you want to do. For single player you want low end and super wide sound stage. For competitive you want high end with great imaging. Do you understand?

 

[dsmxyz]

For the tonal balance, you want more low end (more low frequencies, more bass, or how ever you want to word it) with more low end those single player games sound scape (the music and noises going on in the game) pull you in more since they jump out a little more. Now, if you want to play competitive, its the exact opposite and you want a brighter, more high end focused pair of cans. This is because foot steps are usually in the higher end of the frequencies so the foot steps stick out more compared to other things going on with noises. You also want a wider sound stage if you play a lot of single player. Sound stage is how wide the headphones sound, makes the audio pull you in more. If you want to play competitively then you want to focus on imaging since that is what tells you when someone is about to walk around a corner so you know when to shoot. Really there is no "1 perfect headphone" even just for gaming. It depends highly on what you want to do. For single player you want low end and super wide sound stage. For competitive you want high end with great imaging. Do you understand?

Yes i do, thanks a lot! Sorry for being a dum dum, im new in this topic.
I normally play lots of cs and r6s sometimes, but i had a burnout from fps games, so i started playing stuff like ni no kuni, withcer, bdo, doom, forza, mgs5 etc. but i might come back to comp fps games sometime, should i buy diffrent cups for that matter? if yes, can you recommend some stuff? I liked DT 990 Premium’s look a lot, and read that its good, is it good for the genres and games for me?

 

[Benleetv]

The dt990s are definitely good for fps games and i would recommend going with premium version, i haven't tried them both out, but have heard there's a big enough difference between pro and premium to justify the price. The only thing is if you are sensitive to higher end (upper) frequencies then it won't be the best for music listening, especially metal/rock with the high pitched cords in some rifts and what not. If you aren't sensitive to those frequencies then you should be fine, but they aren't out of the box bass headphones really to be honest so if you want that punch for the edm or jazz or even drums in metal then I'd recommend another pair of headphones. Also it depends what amp/dac you end up pairing them with too. Some amps/dacs are more neutral while others do color the sounds, like they can add a little bump in the bass end for headphones.

 

[dsmxyz]

The dt990s are definitely good for fps games and i would recommend going with premium version, i haven't tried them both out, but have heard there's a big enough difference between pro and premium to justify the price. The only thing is if you are sensitive to higher end (upper) frequencies then it won't be the best for music listening, especially metal/rock with the high pitched cords in some rifts and what not. If you aren't sensitive to those frequencies then you should be fine, but they aren't out of the box bass headphones really to be honest so if you want that punch for the edm or jazz or even drums in metal then I'd recommend another pair of headphones. Also it depends what amp/dac you end up pairing them with too. Some amps/dacs are more neutral while others do color the sounds, like they can add a little bump in the bass end for headphones.

Im fairly new in jazz, just exploring the genre. That said i listen to lots of metal, and since i want nice drums + good rpg experience, i dont think 990 pro or even premium is a good choice for me. I did some digging in the net and found 770’s. Are they nice for my case? Can you recommend anything better or some nice amp’s i can use for a long time?

 

[Benleetv]

The fiio k3 i think it's called, but its about $100 for a amp/dac combo but it's pretty good and those are good, but have you checked out the AKG K712 pro's?

 

[dsmxyz]

The fiio k3 i think it's called, but its about $100 for a amp/dac combo but it's pretty good and those are good, but have you checked out the AKG K712 pro's?

I just did, would the price diffrence be worth it (DT 770/990)?

 

[Benleetv]

I personally think it is

 

[dsmxyz]

I personally think it is

Did you test all three?